Skate Canada International - Day 2

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Two-time Olympic Champion Yuzuru Hanyu (JPN), Alexandra Trusova (RUS), Pair skaters Aleksandra Boikova/ Dmitri Kozlovskii and Ice Dancers Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier (CAN) struck gold at Skate Canada International in Kelowna on Saturday and took the first step towards the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Turin (ITA). Skate Canada International was the second of six events of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating 2019/2020.

Gilles/Poirier (CAN) dance off with first ISU Grand Prix title

Canada’s home favourites Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier upset two-time World Ice Dance medalists Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue (USA) to win their maiden ISU Grand Prix gold medal. Great Britain’s Lilah Fear/Lewis Gibson stepped up one spot to take the bronze at Skate Canada, the first Grand Prix medal of their career.

Gilles/Poirier delivered a fluid dance to the romantic song “Both Sides Now” by Joni Mitchell, executing intricate footwork and lifts. The 2019 Four Continents bronze medalists collected a level four for their combination spin, the combination lift and the straight line lift and a level four and three for the twizzles and one foot step sequence to set a new personal best score of 126.43 points. Gilles/Poirier totaled 209.01 points to overtake overnight leaders Hubbell/Donohue and win the title.

“We’ve worked really hard for this moment. I think we really trusted our training and knew exactly what we needed to do when we came here. We just went for it and skated today’s program and that’s all that we can do. We have plenty more to do in the next couple of weeks to keep this streak going, but I think we’re really up for the challenge,” Gilles said.

“It’s definitely an exciting day for us, but I think we’re really motivated and excited to go back home and start training for Rostelecom,” Poirier added.

Hubbell/Donohue’s emotional dance to “Shallow” and “Alibi” by Lady Gaga featured level-four twizzles and lifts as well as a level-three combination spin and serpentine step sequence. The ISU Grand Prix Final Champions ranked second in the Free Dance at 123.10 points and slipped to second overall at 206.31 points. With a gold from Skate America and the silver from Skate Canada the Americans qualified for their fifth consecutive ISU Grand Prix Final.

“I felt there was so much energy in the rink. We skated after Lilah (Fear) and Lewis (Gibson) and the crowd was absolutely crazy. We tried to feed off that and we really enjoyed another successful Skate Canada,” Hubbell commented.

Fear/Gibson got the crowd at Prospera Place going with their upbeat Madonna Medley. The British Champions collected a level four for four elements, but the midline step sequence garnered only a level two. Fear/Gibson scored 118.68 points for their Free Dance, a new personal best and pulled up one spot to claim the bronze at 195.35 points.

“For us, this is huge. We didn’t expect it. We were really happy that we had two great skates and scored very well,” Gibson shared.

Kaitlin Hawayek/Jean-Luc Baker (USA) gave a solid performance to a Flamenco version of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, but dropped from third to fourth place on 194.77 points. Sara Hurtado/Kirill Khaliavin (ESP) remained in fifth place on 180.64 points.

Quad queen Trusova (RUS) jumps to gold in Kelowna

World Junior Champion Alexandra Trusova of Russia jumped her way to gold in what was her first ISU Grand Prix event. ISU Grand Prix Final champion Rika Kihira of Japan claimed the silver medal and Korea’s Young You earned the bronze in her debut at the senior-level ISU Grand Prix.

Skating to “Games of Thrones”, Trusova reeled off a quadruple Lutz, quadruple-triple toeloop, quadruple toeloop-Euler-triple Salchow as well as a triple Lutz-triple loop and a triple flip. The only glitch in her performance came when the 15-year-old fell on her opening quadruple Salchow. The ISU Junior Grand Prix Final silver medalist picked up 166.62 points for her Free Skating and moved up from third to strike gold with a total score of 241.02 points.

“Overall I am pleased with my performance, I am only upset that I missed the Salchow. It happens in practice quite often that I miss the first jump, but I just pull myself together and carry on,” Trusova said.

Overnight leader Kihira stepped out of her opening triple Axel but recovered instantly to hit a triple Axel-double toe and five more triple jumps as well as level four spins and footwork in her program named “International Angel of Peace”. The 2019 Four Continents Champion earned 148.98 points and slipped to second place at 230.33 points.

“I made a mistake on my triple Axel and I regret that and after that I wanted to do all my other jumps, which I did, but some of my landings could have been better. My next event is the NHK Trophy and I am aiming for the Grand Prix Final,” the 17-year-old noted.

You’s performance to “Evita” was highlighted by a triple Lutz-triple toe combination and five more triples, but she fell on her triple Axel. The Korean Champion was ranked fourth in the Free Skating with 139.27 points and dropped from second to third at 217.49 points overall.

“I was disappointed with the triple Axel, but the other elements were good. I am happy to have won the bronze medal at my first Grand Prix event, this is a great chance for me,” the 15-year-old said.

Bradie Tennell (USA) turned in a solid Free Skating to come fourth at 211.31 points. Olympic silver medalist Evgenia Medvedeva (RUS) pulled up from sixth to fifth with a strong performance (209.62 points). Marin Honda (JPN) moved up from tenth to sixth place at 179.26 points.

Boikova/Kozlvoskii (RUS) celebrate debut Grand Prix win

Youngsters Aleksandra Boikova/ Dmitri Kozlovskii of Russia shone in the Pairs event to win their first Grand Prix gold medal at Skate Canada. Canadians Kirsten Moore-Towers/Michael Marinaro skated to the silver medal while top favorites Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov of Russia had to settle for the bronze.

Performing to a James Bond medley, Boikova/Kozlovskii delivered the goods, nailing a side by side triple Salchow, triple toe-double toe-double toe combination, throw triple flip and loop as well as a triple twist and difficult lifts.

The 2019 European bronze medalists posted a season’s best of 140.26 points and accumulated 216.71 points to take home the gold. “We feel good, we did our job well and hope to do even better next time,” Boikova said. “It was a great performance, a great day for us. We left all our emotions out there in the arena,” Kozlovskii added.

Moore-Towers/Marinaro completed a triple twist, throw triple loop and Salchow, but Marinaro struggled with the solo jumps, singling a toeloop and touching down on the triple Salchow. The Canadian Champions scored 132.99 points and remained in second place at 208.49 points.

“It’s been a bummer day for us. We’re pleased with our score considering the mistakes we made, but we’ve been practicing a lot better. We don’t believe we need to go back to the drawing board, but just adjust our mindset a little bit,” Moore-Towers commented.

Tarasova/Morozov impressed with their triple twist and triple throws in their routine to a new arrangement of the song “Ti Amo”. But Tarasova stumbled on a doubled Salchow and the couple aborted their Axel Lasso lift. The 2019 world silver medalists earned 128.72 points which added up to 202.29 points overall.

“Today was not the best performance of our team. It is a good lesson for us at the beginning of the season. We’ll just keep working and practicing,” Morozov said.

Alexa Scimeca Knierim/Chris Knierim (USA) came in fourth on 199.57 points and Liubov Ilyushechkina/Charlie Bilodeau (CAN) placed fifth in their Grand Prix debut as a team (192.47 points).

Mesmerizing Hanyu (JPN) triumphs at Skate Canada

Two-time Olympic Champion Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan was once more in a league of his own scoring a runaway victory with 60 points to spare at Skate Canada in Kelowna on Saturday. To the delight of the home crowd, Canada’s Nam Nguyen rose to the occasion to take the silver medal and Japan’s Keiji Tanaka pulled up to claim the bronze medal.

Hanyu brought the house down with his dazzling performance to “Art on Ice”, hitting a quadruple Salchow, quadruple toeloop, quadruple toeloop-Euler-triple flip combination, a somewhat wobbly quadruple loop as well as two triple Axels, a triple Lutz and excellent spins and footwork. The two-time World Champion posted a new personal best with 212.99 points and racked up 322.59 points overall.

“In this competition I was able to win within myself. I skated well in the short and free program which I didn’t manage before. I put a lot of pressure on myself before this competition, because I wanted to exceed 300 points and I wanted to win Skate Canada,” Hanyu shared.

Skating last, Nguyen put out an energetic routine to a Beatles medley that featured a quadruple Salchow-triple toeloop combination, a triple Axel, triple Axel-Euler-triple Salchow combination as well as three more triple jumps. The Canadian Champion scored 178.69 points, a personal best score, and totaled 262.77 points to take the second Grand Prix medal of his career following bronze at Skate America in 2014.

“It was a great experience overall. To be able to put out that kind of performance after Yuzu’s god-like performance is a big step up in my career and I hope to continue the momentum,” the 21-year-old said.

Tanaka’s program to “Sherlock Holmes” included two quadruple Salchows as well as six triple jumps and level-four spins. The National bronze medalist scored 169.91 points, a new personal best, to end with 250.02 points overall.

“Compared to the short program, the free skating was good. I was able to switch my mindset. However, my jumps were not perfect, I didn’t do the quad toe and there is room for improvement,” Tanaka noted.

Grand Prix debutant Camden Pulkinen (USA) slipped from second to fourth at 244.78 points after a few minor errors in his free skate. Deniss Vasiljevs (LAT) finished fifth (227.40 points) and Matteo Rizzo (ITA) moved up from ninth to sixth place on 223.78 points.